The Safed Baradari ( hi, सफ़ेद बारादरी, ur, سفید بارادری) (literally 'white palace'), is a white marbled building in

Lucknow Lucknow (, ) is the capital and the largest city of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is also the second largest urban agglomeration in Uttar Pradesh. Lucknow is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and division ...

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

History

It was built by

Nawab Nawab ( Balochi: نواب; ar, نواب; bn, নবাব/নওয়াব; hi, नवाब; Punjabi : ਨਵਾਬ; Persian, Punjabi , Sindhi, Urdu: ), also spelled Nawaab, Navaab, Navab, Nowab, Nabob, Nawaabshah, Nawabshah or Nobab, ...

Wajid Ali Shah Mirza Wajid Ali Shah ( ur, ) (30 July 1822 – 1 September 1887) was the eleventh and last King of Awadh, holding the position for 9 years, from 13 February 1847 to 11 February 1856. Wajid Ali Shah's first wife was Alam Ara who was better k ...

as a 'palace of mourning' and was named Qasr-ul-Aza. Initial purpose of this building was to be used as an

Imambara A ḥosayniya or hussainiya (Arabic: حسينية ''husayniyya''), also known as an ashurkhana, imambargah, or imambara, is a congregation hall for Twelver Shia Muslim commemoration ceremonies, especially those associated with the Mourning of ...

for observing 'azadaari' (mourning) for the martyrdom of

Imam Hussain Abū ʿAbd Allāh al-Ḥusayn ibn ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib ( ar, أبو عبد الله الحسين بن علي بن أبي طالب; 10 January 626 – 10 October 680) was a grandson of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a son of Ali ibn Abi ...

and his followers at Karbala. After the annexation of Awadh in 1856, the Baradari was used by the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

to hold court for petitions and claims by the officers and nobles of the deposed King's reign and his relatives. Later (around 1923) it was handed over, as a gesture of appreciation for their submission and loyalty to the Queen of the British Empire, to the Taluqadars of

Awadh Awadh (), known in British historical texts as Avadh or Oudh, is a region in the modern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, which was before independence known as the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh. It is synonymous with the Kośāla region of ...

for their 'Anjuman' (association) which was renamed as the British India Association of Oudh. The Baradari continues to be in their possession and control.

Interior

The main hall of the Baradari has two marble statues of the Maharajas, Man Singh and Digvijay Singh of Balrampur, the founders of the association. The statue of Sir Man Singh was carved by

Farmer & Brindley Farmer & Brindley was a firm of architectural sculptors and ornamentalists based in London, founded by William Farmer (1825–1879) and William Brindley (1832–1919) The firm, located on Westminster Bridge Road in Lambeth, south London, flour ...

of London, at a cost of £2 000, and was unveiled on 13 August 1902 by Sir James John Digges La Touche, Lieutenant-Governor of the

United Provinces of Agra and Oudh The United Provinces of Agra and Oudh was a province of India under the British Raj, which existed from 1902 to 1921; the official name was shortened by the Government of India Act 1935 to United Provinces (UP), by which the province had been ...

References

{{coord missing, Uttar Pradesh Buildings and structures in Lucknow Marble buildings 1854 establishments in India Buildings and structures completed in 1854